We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Sunday, March 4. 2018

20:2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;

20:3 you shall have no other gods before me.

20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,

20:6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

20:7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

20:8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

20:10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.

20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

20:13 You shall not murder.

20:14 You shall not commit adultery.

20:15 You shall not steal.

20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

5. "Punishing children..." is worded as "remembering the sin of parents to children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to those who hate Me..."

6. And doing lovingkindness to the thousands, to those who love Me and those who keep my commandments...

Note that the only commandment with a clearly stated reward is honor for parents.

This is also the only commandment governing human relationships that is on the first tablet, bridging between "philosophical" commandments about our relationship to G-d and the second 5 commandments for human interaction.

The Lefties knew exactly what they were doing when they targeted the family for postmodern attack.

I still haven't been able to figure out exactly what code of ethics/behavior the fem/nazis have tried to put in place. You know a code that each individual attempts to adhere to whether or not someone is looking. That cannot be replaced with a litany of bumperstickers!

Mistranslation in 6th verse. The word in Hebrew is "chesed" (or "khesed") which is accurately translated as mercy or kindness. The word "lovingkindness" sounds like a Christian term. The closest translation to that in Hebrew I can find is "ahava," which simply means "love" and is not in this verse.

I am currently teaching a class on the commandments and would add that honoring parents helps create a certain type of person and a certain type of society. It teaches gratitude to those who did us good which we do not remember and cannot repay, even though we might now be at odds with them and know their faults. And as Ben David noted, the command to honor parents is not a command to honor tribal leaders, or the wealthy, or the talented, or military heroes. We might choose to honor any of those, but we are not required to. Simple, everyday people, mothers and fathers, are as eligible as any prince for this honor. Also, the inclusion of mothers as equals in the equation was unique, and has not existed outside Judaism, and then Christianity.

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: